Richard presents the similarities, the differences, and the complementarities between the Eastern and Western understandings of transformation. Some have called the goal enlightenment, some salvation, some ecstasy, nirvana, or heaven. What is the goal of the spiritual journey according to the main line Christian tradition? What Christian spirituality called the unitive way was often described as non-dual consciousness by Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. Are we often seeking the same thing? How can we honor and respect each of these spiritual traditions?

Father Richard Rohr, Franciscan priest and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, answers a question about The Bible and nonduality. He suggests that the violence of some Old Testament texts can be seen as a way of including the problem in the solution.

How Buddha helps to be a better Christian: Richard Rohr
Richard Rohr, O.F.M. is an American Franciscan friar ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church in 1970. He is a known inspirational speaker and has published numerous recorded talks and books, including The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation, Yes, And…: Daily Meditations, Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, and Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi.

Two and a half decades ago, Ascended Master Teachers Arten and Pursah appeared to Gary Renard and held a series of conversations with him that elaborated on the teachings of two spiritual classics, The Gospel of Thomas and A Course in Miracles. Gary immortalized what he learned in the books of his best-selling series: The Disappearance of the Universe, Your Immortal Reality, and Love Has Forgotten No One. This fourth book is a companion to the original trilogy, yet written to stand alone, an invitation for new readers into this fascinating work.

This book explores six of the lifetimes in which the incarnations of Jesus and Buddha lived together, beginning in 700 B.C. when they were known as Saka and Hiroji. Arten and Pursah, through the spiritual lessons that Jesus and Buddha learn on their path, clarify the difference between duality and non-duality. When you are able to internalize these lessons, you will be saved countless years in your spiritual development.

Gary R. Renard underwent a powerful spiritual awakening in the early 1990s. As instructed by two ascended masters who appeared to him in the flesh, he wrote his first best-selling book, The Disappearance of the Universe, over a period of nine years. He was later guided to speak in public and has recently been described as one of the most interesting and courageous spiritual speakers in the world. Gary’s second and third books, Your Immortal Reality, and Love Has Forgotten No One, were also best-sellers.

Over the past 14 years, Gary has spoken in 44 states, 31 countries, and was the keynote speaker at the International A Course in Miracles Conferences in Salt Lake City, Chicago, and San Francisco. He is also a recipient of the Infinity Foundation Spirit Award, given to a person who has made a meaningful contribution to personal and spiritual growth. Past recipients include Dan Millman, Ram Dass, Gary Zukav, James Redfield and Neale Donald Walsch. Website: http://www.GaryRenard.com

[INTERVIEW] Gary Renard – Untold Secrets of Jesus & Buddha’s Lifetimes + OUTTAKES – ACIM
In this video I interview Gary Renard about his new book:“The Lifetimes When Jesus and Buddha Knew Each Other” which is released on November 14th 2017.

He tells us some untold secrets about Jesus and Buddha and how they were romantic partners in previous lifetimes and how they learned from Plato.

We also hear about how to apply the Holy Spirit in terms of A Course in Miracles (ACIM) correctly and let it move through us.
At the end we have some funny outtakes for you, because what would life be if there isn’t a good laugh.

Adyashanti is an American-born spiritual teacher devoted to serving the awakening of all beings. His teachings are an open invitation to stop, inquire, and recognize what is true and liberating at the core of all existence. He is the author of The Way of Liberation, Falling into Grace, True Meditation, and Resurrecting Jesus: Embodying the Spirit of a Revolutionary Mystic. I’ve done a number of retreats with Adya who is in my estimation one of the three truly original spiritual thinkers of our moment, the other two being Eckhart Tolle and Byron Katie. We had a great time talking about the process of enlightenment and how Christianity lost its way.

Mark Matousek: I was surprised to see you’d written a book about Jesus, considering your background in Zen Buddhism. How did that happen?

Adyashanti: It really was a labor of love. For the last two or three years, I’ve been doing one retreat a year that focuses on Jesus’s teachings, so this was a natural outgrowth of that.

MM: Why did you choose to emphasize the revolutionary Jesus?

A: That’s a characteristic of Jesus that speaks to me. When I was practicing Zen Buddhism intensively during my twenties, I went through this period of being involved with the Christian mystics. There was something I wasn’t finding in my Zen practice. Many years later I realized that what I was looking for was the opening of the spiritual heart. I got around to reading the New Testament and I didn’t even recognize the Jesus in those gospels. I literally thought, who is this guy? He came off as such a revolutionary. He was very outspoken about the issues of his day, the power structure of his own religion, political issues, and so on. In contrast to the typical Eastern sage removed from society, Jesus was very much a man of the world. We grow up with this idea of him as some sort of God-man transcendent of everything then you read the gospels and find out that he wasn’t at all. He had some very human characteristics.

MM: Is there a conflict for you between Christianity, which posits faith in God, and Buddhism that denies God’s existence?

A: From a theological perspective, there are obviously some very great differences. Personally, though, I don’t find a conflict because I look at these things from a big view and not through a tight theological lens. Both Jesus and Buddha are representations of archetypal spiritual patterns within us. The Buddha is the archetypal image of transcendent realization, that which was never touched by time and the world, nor by human difficulty. The Jesus story is an archetype of something quite different: an engaged realization. Jesus doesn’t find his freedom through transcendence of the world but from a very, very deep engagement. In the Jesus story itself, the spirit of heaven descends upon Jesus, which is a very different kind of spiritual awakening. It’s the descent of spirit into form rather than the arising spirit waking up out of form. Both of these are legitimate approaches to awakening. Our Western spiritual traditions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, aim at achieving a relationship with the divine, whereas the Eastern, non-dual traditions aim at identification with (or as) the divine. At times, what’s missing from non-dual practice is the spiritual heart. You can have an extraordinary amount of transcendent realization without the spiritual heart, which is a deep, intuitive, intimate connectedness with life around you.

MM: In Resurrecting Jesus, you write, “the search for the historical Jesus isn’t the point. The point is the story, the collective dream.” What is to be gained by rediscovering the power of the collective dream?

A: In the West, when you call something a myth you are basically saying it’s not true. That’s a complete misunderstanding of what myth actually is, though. Myth is a story meant to convey something that can’t be put in ordinary language. So when we look at something like the Jesus story mythologically without worrying about how much is true, we can enter into a creative relationship with the story. Instead of asking what Jesus actually said, we can ask what this story evokes in us. Myths are meant to evoke hidden dimensions of human consciousness. The Jesus story becomes much more powerful in this way, as well as healing. We’ve grown up in a culture that’s absolutely dripping and saturated with this story. It has an immense influence on the Western psyche and if we can’t make real peace with that story, it becomes like a wound that doesn’t heal.

MM: The wound of Christianity?

A: The wound of how we’ve understood Christianity. I’ll give you an example. Part of the Judeo Christian tradition is the idea of Original Sin. As a result, you have this rampant disease of unworthiness in Western cultures that, for the better part of 2,500 years, have lived with this mythology of the fall. Until we can reinterpret this story, it’s very, very hard to heal the wound of feeling unworthy. We have to be able to go back and look at it again with fresh eyes. Jesus didn’t go around telling people that they were unworthy. It’s the theologians that went around after he died telling people they were unworthy. That never entered into any of Jesus’s dialogues at all.

MM: You write that Zen taught you about “the dimension of being far beyond personal psychology.” How would you describe this dimension?

A: There is a dimension of experience within you that’s eternal and has no history. It has no time, it has no past, it has no personality, it has no karma, it has no problem. It’s the dimension of consciousness that is literally outside of time and everything that touches time. The non-dual traditions, such as Zen, are very, very powerful at evoking that dimension of human experience. But this doesn’t necessarily solve problems relating to personal psychology. So you can be very deeply rooted in a very transcendent experience of being and still have some very problematic, unresolved issues in your psychology.

MM: As someone who lives in this dimension most of the time, do you struggle with emotions and conflict in daily life?

A: There hasn’t really been much struggle for the past ten years or so. Of course, it could be different when I get out of bed tomorrow. (laughs) The underlying feeling state for me is contentment. It’s a serene kind of joy that underlies everything. At first, I had a very powerful awakening to eternity and then, over the ensuing years, my spirituality moved toward embracing everything that I had transcended, the nature of human emotion, personality, and so on. What I’ve found is that the dimension of eternity and the dimension of time are really one in the same. I just feel at ease with it all. I’m at ease with my humanity. I’m at ease with eternity. I’m at ease with life. It doesn’t mean that everything goes smoothly. I’m like everybody else. Life has its challenges but it’s just not a big deal. There’s an underlying sense of ease and Ok-ness.

MM: What do you find most challenging?

A: To be quite honest, very trivial things. The thing I probably find most challenging in personal life is my computer. I’m not joking. The bigger things aren’t big challenges for me anymore. But I can get frustrated at my computer and the first thing you’ll hear is me yelling for my wife to come help me. Mukti, come and save me from this device! I found the devil and it’s a computer. Strangely enough, when humans don’t do the things you might expect them to do, that’s not really very frustrating to me. I totally get that.

MM: You don’t get angry at people?

A: No, not really. Years ago, I had this realization, this experience, where something just finally completely fell away. The whole self-structure, which is the thing that’s always looking within. The turn of consciousness that’s always evaluating things. The whole self-structure just sort of fell away. The most honest way I can describe it is that I lost my inner world. So when things happen, they just happen. There’s not much inner life for them to affect.

MM: There’s nothing to protect.

A: Right. There’s nothing to protect. There’s no inner story that feels compelled to protect itself.

MM: Finally, I’d like to ask you about the notion of divine incarnation, regarding Jesus, Buddha, or anyone else described as an avatar. How do you interpret that?

A: I think that every single incarnation is a divine incarnation. I know nothing nor do I care to know about avatars. I think “avatar” is an idea. And the idea is separative. It assumes that there are divine incarnations as opposed to what? Other people that aren’t divine? How can that possibly be? Because one person has realized it and another hasn’t? If somebody hasn’t discovered their true nature it doesn’t make them one iota less divine. Some people may come into their incarnation never having forgotten their true nature; if someone wants to call that person an avatar, fine. But when we think that avatars have some sort of “more essential divinity,” we’re back in the world of separation, duality, and mind-made divisions that aren’t really there. If someone is born in full remembrance of who they are, good for them.. But that doesn’t mean they have more divinity than a heroin addict in the gutter. The heroin addict doesn’t know that they’re divine —that’s the difference. It’s a relative difference, not an essential difference. And that’s what I love about the Jesus story. He got made into an avatar and the God-man and all this stuff after he died, but his way of moving in the world was very ordinary. He was a very outspoken critic of the various ways that us human beings create divisions and then take advantage of those divisions. That’s why I say that enlightenment doesn’t raise you, it actually lowers you because you see the reality of all beings. Not just your beings, but all beings. Otherwise it’s just an enlightened ego that thinks it’s better than, more spiritual, or whatever. It shows you that all ultimately on the same playing field. We’re the same stuff. In that absolute sense, we are all of profound equality. To me, the enlightened view is the ultimate form of democracy.

Adyashanti and Francis Bennett in a public dialog about the parallels and differences between Jesus and the Buddha, as two complimentary yet very different models of awakening. Where the Buddha emphasized inner peace and the transcendence of samsara, Christ emphasized embodying divine humanity in the midst of samsara, embracing the human condition in order to serve those who are lost in ignorance.

Adya came to a deeper appreciation of Jesus by way of his study of Zen, while Francis ─ a former Trappist monk turned non-dual teacher ─ came to Buddhism by way of immersion in mystical Christianity.

“The Christ comes to disturb, to stir up the pot, to descend to the chaotic earthly realm, and to get people to move out of their limited comfort zones and indifference toward others and life in general: to help us transform and transmute the personal and social dimension of what it means to be a human being in a human society. The Buddha comes to bring inner peace by awakening us up and out of our over-identification with the personal, and help us to realize who we are in transcendence, who we are as “trans-personal” persons. You need both approaches. They are opposite sides of the one “coin” of awakening.” — Francis Bennett

Adyashanti, is an American-born spiritual teacher and author devoted to serving the awakening of all beings. His teachings are an open invitation to stop, inquire, and recognize what is true and liberating at the core of all existence. Asked to teach in 1996 by his Zen teacher of 14 years, Adyashanti offers teachings that are free of any tradition or ideology. “The Truth I point to is not confined within any religious point of view, belief system, or doctrine, but is open to all and found within all.” He teaches throughout North America and Europe, offering satsangs, weekend intensives, silent retreats, and a live internet radio broadcast.

Francis Bennett entered the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemane in 1981 and in the 90’s subsequently lived at a “daughter house” of Gethsemane in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. Until recently, he was living in a small urban monastery in Montreal Quebec. He has been a “spiritual seeker” during all those years, practicing in the Christian mystical/contemplative Tradition and working deeply with teachers in both the Vipassana and Zen Traditions as well. In 2010 he experienced a profound perceptual “shift” in which he realized the ever-present presence of pure Awareness, which some would call, the Presence of God.

You may contact Francis by email, Skype (francisdale3), his Facebook page, or through his website, http://findinggraceatthecenter.com. Francis’ book: “I Am That I Am: Discovering the Love, Peace, Joy and Stability of the True Self“.

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The Gospel of Thomas, used by followers of Jesus in the early centuries but rejected by the Church,was lost to the ages until a 1945 discovery of its full text, buried in a jar under the Egyptian sand for 1600 years. Told by Jesus to his disciple, Didymos Judas Thomas, scholars consider this gospel one of Christianity’s great discoveries. Some believe it may be older than any of the four New Testament gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Composed of a list of 114 sayings of Jesus, some are similar or identical to those in the New Testament. Other Thomas sayings point to a very different message delivered by Jesus than what the Church embraces.
Saying of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas

One of the more curious Thomas phrases is Saying 22. Within this Saying, Jesus tells his disciples to make “the two into one.” Then, more specifically, He says to “make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner,” and “make the upper like the lower” and “the male and female into a single one.” This message is neither of salvation through devotion nor of salvation through the story of the Cross, which are at the forefront of the Christian message. It is, rather, a message of awakening the mind, similar to the Eastern philosophies and religions.

Method to Find the Way to Eternal Life

The somewhat-lengthy Saying 22 continues with more yet, offering a method for bringing the two into one, and for making the inner like the outer. Jesus instructs the disciples to “make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image,” and upon doing so, “you will enter.” The teaching, as I interpret, is to bring together the various elements of the self. The mind constructs an inner version of the outer world, an imagined reality in place of the actual, experienced, physical world.
What Makes this Way Possible?

To make eyes in place of an eye recognizes the inner eye (the third eye). The physical eyes are a mere extension of it. Recreate in your mind a hand in place of your physical hand, and a foot in place of your physical foot. In making the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, your imagination and physical being become one.

Next, extend this imagined-self outward. Picture the world that you see as a creation of your mind. Make an image in place of an image, be it walls and a ceiling or the sky and a meadow. Imagine it is your mind constructing the world that you see and experience. It is as though you are awake in a dream, or are seeing a vision. Your every movement will become more exacting and more precise, because you are directing your reality with forethought and exactitude.

In Sustaining the World, We Can Move On

Ultimately, over years or lifetimes, your mind will become steadied and focused, and you will, therefore, be sustaining a world. When your body dies, you will not die; finding eternal life having overcome the entrapping physical matter we call the world.

This understanding of the Jesus message demands a new interpretation of the New Testament gospels, such as the revered Last Supper of Christ. At Passover feast, Jesus breaks the bread and pours the wine, instructing the disciples that the bread is his body, and the wine his blood. It is a lesson on present-moment awareness; the bread and wine the body and lifeblood of the greater self; thus, the inner being of Jesus and of his disciples and of you and I.

The Personal Message in the Gospel of Thomas

The message is a personal one, the bread their own body, and the wine their own lifeblood. The Passover feast is indeed a further step in the process of making a hand in place of a hand, the breaking of bread and a passing of it among friends a communion within the one mind, in the present moment.

In Eastern philosophy, where an awakening of consciousness is the single most important purpose, it is said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. To make a hand in place of a hand is just such a first step. For devoted Christians, for atheists, for those of any religious, political, or social persuasion, a method is here now, in every waking moment. Both religious rituals and ordinary deeds required for daily living are rich ground for the practitioner. These seeming-redundant activities are a perfect vehicle for making the journey to eternal life.

About the Author

Arthur Telling has written numerous stories and articles on religion, philosophy, and metaphysics. His article, “A Different Jesus Message” appeared in the Nov. 2011 AMORC Rosicrucian Digest. Telling is the author of “Johann’s Awakening” (a parody of Jonathan Livingston Seagull), and three novels including “Kaitlin’s Message,” exploring the secret sayings of the Gospel of Thomas. His web site is: http://www.arthurtelling.com

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The headlines are clear: religion is on the decline in America as many people leave behind traditional religious practices. Diana Butler Bass, leading commentator on religion, politics, and culture, follows up her acclaimed book Christianity After Religion by arguing that what appears to be a decline actually signals a major transformation in how people understand and experience God. The distant God of conventional religion has given way to a more intimate sense of the sacred that is with us in the world. This shift, from a vertical understanding of God to a God found on the horizons of nature and human community, is at the heart of a spiritual revolution that surrounds us – and that is challenging not only religious institutions but political and social ones as well.

Grounded explores this cultural turn as Bass unpacks how people are finding new spiritual ground by discovering and embracing God everywhere in the world around us—in the soil, the water, the sky, in our homes and neighborhoods, and in the global commons. Faith is no longer a matter of mountaintop experience or institutional practice; instead, people are connecting with God through the environment in which we live. Grounded guides readers through our contemporary spiritual habitat as it points out and pays attention to the ways in which people experience a God who animates creation and community.

Bass brings her understanding of the latest research and studies and her deep knowledge of history and theology to Grounded. She cites news, trends, data, and pop culture, weaves in spiritual texts and ancient traditions, and pulls it all together through stories of her own and others’ spiritual journeys. Grounded observes and reports a radical change in the way many people understand God and how they practice faith. In doing so, Bass invites readers to join this emerging spiritual revolution, find a revitalized expression of faith, and change the world.

Diana Butler Bass was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona. For as long as she can remember, she’s been interested in spirituality, religion, history, and politics–passions she intertwines in her books and writing. She holds a Ph.D. in American religious history from Duke University. After a dozen years teaching undergraduates, she became a full-time writer, independent researcher, educator, and consultant. Her work has been cited in the national media, including TIME Magazine, USA TODAY, and the Washington Post, and she has appeared on CNN, FOX, PBS, and on NPR. For five years, she wrote a weekly feature on American religion for the New York Times syndicate. She currently writes for Huffington Post and Washington Post and is a contributing editor at Sojourners magazine.

The Sunday Forum: “Grounded” Finding God in the World – A Spiritual Revolution
Grounded: Finding God in the World – A Spiritual Revolution
Join author and scholar Diana Butler Bass as she discusses her newest book, Grounded: Finding God in the World – A Spiritual Revolution. Recent studies show many people leaving behind traditional religious practices. Diana Butler Bass, a leading commentator on religion, politics, and culture, argues that what appears to be a decline actually signals a major transformation in how people understand and experience God. The distant God of conventional religion has given way to a more intimate sense of the sacred that is with us in the world. This shift, from a vertical understanding of God to a God found on the horizons of nature and human community, is at the heart of a spiritual revolution that surrounds us—and that is challenging not only religious institutions but political and social ones as well.
Diana Butler Bass specializes in American religion and culture. She holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University and is the author of nine books. Bass will be the preacher at the 11:15 am worship service following the Sunday Forum

The longer we are unaware of what is taking place within us – of what drives us and what can liberate us from the bonds of egocentric behavior – the longer we allow what the Buddha called the sorrow of life to hold sway. The sorrow of life is the sum and consequence of our total identification with the world of self.

The word Consciousness means something more than what the mind of self thinks, imagines, or conceives. Awareness in Pure Consciousness is an awareness that is beyond self. Contrary to traditional thinking, the so-called unseen, unknown world is nothing more than Consciousness of which we are unaware. Unawareness in Consciousness has been evolving into Awareness in Consciousness since before time began.

The author of this work comprehensively sets forth a meaning of ancient scripture that likely has not been advanced to you before. He demystifies ancient legends and myths so that the essential truth of ancient teachings shines through. Using ancient scripture as a guide, he insightfully explores a growing conscious awareness that has emerged within mankind over the last few thousand years.

A must read for anyone looking to discover the deeper meaning of ancient scripture beyond a literal interpretation of the words.

A former athlete, teacher, and entrepreneur, JC is a critically acclaimed author, video producer, and spiritual teacher who corresponds with students worldwide. A student, himself, first of his enlightened father, and later of world-renowned teachers Jiddu Krishnamurti and Eckhart Tolle, JC’s investigation into the nature of Life and the universe led to realizations in Pure Conscious Awareness that ultimately led to the writing of “The Christ is NOT a Person: The Evolution of Consciousness and the Destiny of Man.” He is currently writing and producing a series of video presentations entitled, “Pure Consciousness: The Last Frontier” that can be viewed online at http://www.jctefft.com.

The merging of Christianity and Nonduality. A conversation with Adam Bucko, Matthew Wright and Francis Bennett moderated by Cameron McColl. A fascinating dialogue on Christianity, Nonduality and the role of Christian mysticism in our day to day life, both as a spiritual practice and a way to approach life.

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The Rev. Matthew Wright is an Episcopal priest, writer, and retreat leader working to renew the Christian Wisdom tradition within a wider interspiritual framework. He writes a monthly column, Belonging, for Contemplative Journal and serves as priest-in-charge at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Woodstock, NY. Matthew lives with his wife, Yanick, alongside the brothers of Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY. You can learn more about his work through the Center for Spiritual Resources.

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Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved of all saints. Both traditional and entirely revolutionary, he was a paradox. He was at once down to earth and reaching toward heaven, grounded in the rich history of the Church while moving toward a new understanding of the world beyond.

Globally recognized as an ecumenical teacher, Richard Rohr started out—and remains—a Franciscan friar. The loving, inclusive life and preaching of Francis of Assisi make him a recognizable and beloved saint across many faith traditions. He was, as Rohr notes, “a master of ‘making room for it’ and letting go of that which was tired or empty.”

Francis found an “alternative way” to follow Jesus, one that disregarded power and privilege and held fast to the narrow path of the Gospel. Rohr helps us look beyond the birdbath image of the saint to remind us of the long tradition founded on his revolutionary, radical, and life-changing embrace of the teachings of Jesus.

Rohr draws on Scripture, insights from psychology, and literary and artistic references, to weave together an understanding of the tradition as first practiced by St. Francis. Rohr shows how his own innovative theology is firmly grounded in the life and teaching of this great saint and provides a perspective on how his alternative path to the divine can deepen and enrich our spiritual lives.

Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (www.cac.org) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he also serves as Academic Dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation. Fr. Richard’s teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy–practices of contemplation and lived kenosis (self-emptying), expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized.

He has been a featured essayist on NPR’s “This I Believe,” a guest of Mehmet Oz on the Oprah and Friends radio show, and a guest of Oprah Winfrey on Super Soul Sunday. Fr. Richard was one of several spiritual leaders featured in the 2006 documentary film ONE: The Movie and was included in Watkins’ Spiritual 100 List for 2013. He has given presentations with spiritual leaders such as Rob Bell, Cynthia Bourgeault, Joan Chittister, Shane Claiborne, James Finley, Laurence Freeman, Thomas Keating, Ronald Rolheiser, Jim Wallis, and the Dalai Lama.

Are You Eager to Love?
Richard Rohr, OFM introduces his book Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi in this excerpt from a longer talk, “Are You Eager to Love?” Both book and audio teaching are available from store.cac.org.

Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fr. Richard is the author of numerous books, including Everything Belongs, The Naked Now, Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, and Immortal Diamond. Visit cac.org to learn more about Fr. Richard and CAC.
Fr. Richard Rohr talks about his book, Eager to Love
Published on Jan 29, 2015

Fr. Richard talks about the bright spirit of St. Francis and how artists of his time were inspired by him.

The Christian Meaning Of Enlightenment, Father Richard Rohr
Father Richard Rorh
The Christian Meaning of Enlightenment
Science and Nonduality Conference, 2011, San Rafael, CA USA

Richard presents the similarities, the differences, and the complementarities between the Eastern and Western understandings of transformation. Some have called the goal enlightenment, some salvation, some ecstasy, nirvana, or heaven. What is the goal of the spiritual journey according to the main line Christian tradition? What Christian spirituality called the unitive way was often described as non-dual consciousness by Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. Are we often seeking the same thing? How can we honor and respect each of these spiritual traditions?

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This book correlates teachings from several profound texts, namely the spiritual philosophy of A Course in Miracles and a rendition of The Gospel of Thomas, a collection of Sayings from the time of Jesus. The hidden keys unearthed from these combined resources will help us delve deeper into the metaphysical meanings of life, and strive to answer universal spiritual questions that have eluded mankind’s awareness for generations. We will endeavor to understand our purpose in life and our reason for being.

Our aim is to methodically decipher how to draw closer to our Source, and to understand how to overcome past obstacles that have prevented that joyous reunion from occurring. As we embark upon the path of forgiveness our perceptions will change as to what we consider real and important. We become joyfully reacquainted with a different Guide than we have traveled with in the past, One who will smooth our way and make straight our path. With these keys in hand, we will gain the knowledge that enables us to see beyond form to the formless, and unite once again with the flawless Vision that sees our True Self as it really is.

Cynthia Bove‘ is a graduate of the City College of New York, with a degree in Sociology and a Minor in Psychology. She lives on Long Island with her family.

Interview with Cynthia Bové, Author of The Fifth Disciple: Choose Again and Find True Happiness
Another book about The Gospel of Thomas! 🙂 I speak to Cynthia Bové, Author of The Fifth Disciple – an excellent book that covers the gist of A Course in Miracles and the links with The Gospel of Thomas.

In this innovative book, Cynthia Bove has taken the insightful spiritual philosophy of A Course in Miracles and correlated it with a profound collection of Sayings from the time of Jesus. These ancient Sayings had been buried in the desert for over sixteen hundred years before they were rediscovered in 1945.

Now the revelations from these combined resources can help us discover our purpose in life and our reason for being. Once again we will become happily reacquainted with a different Guide than we have traveled with in the past, One who will lovingly smooth our way and make straight our path.

As we studiously embark upon the path of forgiveness that is laid out before us, we will draw closer to our Source and overcome the obstacles that have prevented our joyous reunion from occurring. We will gain the knowledge that enables us to see beyond form to the formless, and unite once again with the flawless Vision that sees our True Self as it really is.

Fighting God is a firebrand manifesto from one of the most recognizable faces of atheism. In his book, Silverman-a walking, talking atheist billboard known for his appearances on Fox News-discusses the effectiveness, ethics and impact of the in-your-face-atheist who refuses to be silent.

Silverman argues that religion is more than just wrong: it is malevolent and does not deserve our respect. It is our duty to be outspoken and do what we can to bring religion down. Examining the mentality, methods and issues facing the firebrand atheist, Silverman presents an overwhelming argument for firebrand atheism and reveals:

– All religion is cafeteria religion and all agnostics are atheists.

– American society grants religion a privileged status, despite the intentions of the Founding Fathers.

– It is not “Islamophobia” to observe dangerous teachings and disproportionate violence in Islam.

– Atheists are slowly but surely winning the battle.

Fighting God is a provocative, unapologetic book that takes religion to task and will give inspiration to non-believers and serve as the ultimate answer to apologists.
DAVID SILVERMAN is the president of American Atheists and one of the best-known atheists in America. Known as “America’s loudest heathen,” a term he embraces proudly, Silverman is passionate about atheism and atheist equality. He has appeared on several T.V. programs for on-air debates, including, the O’Reilly Factor, Hannity & Colmes, Scarborough Country and CNN Paula Zahn NOW. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and child. Fighting God is his first book.

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“Let us guard the mind with all diligence from thoughts that obscure the soul’s mirror; for in that mirror Jesus Christ, the wisdom and power of God the Father, is luminously reflected. And let us unceasingly seek the Kingdom of Heaven inside our mind. Indeed if we cleanse the eye of the mind, we will find all things hidden within us. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ said that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us, indicating that Divinity dwells in our minds.” –Saint Philotheos of Sinai, circa ninth century.

In this provocative and very human work, Tom Chetwynd tells the story of how his skeptical first encounters with Zen Buddhism led him to discover the rich-but largely forgotten Christian tradition of pure contemplative prayer. Chetwynd explores the surprisingly Zen-like teachings of the Desert Fathers and other Christian meditation masters whose practice stems from the very first Christian communities–and perhaps Jesus Christ himself.

Tom Chetwynd is the author of many books on dreams, myths, and symbols, including The Dictionary for Dreamers and The Age of Myth: The Bronze Age As the Cradle of the Unconscious. He lives in London, England.

“Some people want to know why I wished to be called Francis. For me, Francis of Assisi is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation.”
— Pope Francis, March 16, 2013.

Published in cooperation with the Vatican, this original collection brings the life and legacy of Saint Francis of Assisi to life through the pope’s uplifting and challenging words.By taking the name of one of the most venerated figures in Christendom, Pope Francis set a high bar for his papacy. Saint Francis renounced wealth and honor in order to proclaim the Gospel message to a lost generation. His exuberant love for God and radical example of Christian life awakened hope in countless followers and renewed the Church.

Pope Francis’s inspirational homilies, addresses, and writings on Franciscan ideals such as simplicity, humility, forgiveness, joy, compassion, peacemaking, and care for creation give you a simple way to renew your faith.

Pope Francis, formerly Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., served the Jesuits as novice master, lecturer, provincial, confessor, and spiritual director before Pope John Paul II named him Archbishop of Buenos Aires. He was elected to the papacy on March 13, 2013. He is the first pope from the Americas and the first pope to choose the name Francis, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Alicia (Ramirez de Arellano) von Stamwitz was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States in 1960. She is an award-winning freelance author and longtime editor with the religious press. Her interviews and profiles of today’s most influential spiritual leaders are published internationally. She lives in Missouri with her family. More information can be found at http://www.aliciavonstamwitz.com

Millions of Christians and non-Christians look to Thomas Merton for spiritual wisdom and guidance, but to whom did Merton look? In The Franciscan Heart of Thomas Merton, Franciscan friar and author Daniel Horan shows how, both before and after he became a Trappist monk, Merton’s life was shaped by his love for St. Francis and for the Franciscan spiritual and intellectual tradition. Given recent renewed interest in St. Francis, this timely resource is both informative and practical, revealing a previously hidden side of Merton that will inspire a new generation of Christians to live richer, deeper, and more justice-minded lives of faith.

Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M. is a Franciscan friar of Holy Name Province (New York) and is currently a Ph.D. student in systematic theology at Boston College. Fr. Dan studied at St. Bonaventure University where he earned a B.A. (Honors) degree in theology and journalism. He entered the Order of Friars Minor in 2005, made his first profession of vows in 2007 and was ordained a priest in 2012. During his studies as a friar, he earned an M.A. degree in systematic theology in 2010 and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 2012, both from the Washington Theological Union. Fr. Dan has previously taught in the department of religious studies at Siena College (2010-2011) and has been a visiting professor in the department of theology at St. Bonaventure University during summer session (2012). He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Thomas Merton Society.

The author of many scholarly and popular articles, Fr. Dan received a 2011 Catholic Press Association first-place award for his writing on spirituality. He is the author of several books, including Dating God: Live and Love in the Way of St. Francis (2012) and Francis of Assisi and the Future of Faith: Exploring Franciscan Spirituality and Theology in the Modern World (2012). In addition to his column in America, Fr. Dan is a regular contributor to Give Us This Day (Liturgical Press) and The Huffington Post. To learn more about his writing and speaking engagements, visit his website: DanHoran.com. He blogs at DatingGod.org and you can also find him on Facebook and Twitter (@DanHoranOFM)

Fr. Dan brings the Franciscan tradition to life by imagining our faith journeys in terms of “dating” as a dynamic, creative, and renewing spiritual thread for twenty-first century
Christians.

Thomas Merton, Spiritual Master
Published on Feb 23, 2015

Thomas Merton was not perfect, and he might not have been a saint. But he was indeed a master of the spiritual life, and his life and work had a profound effect on me and an army of others around the world. Fr. Barron offers a tribute to him on the 100th anniversary of Merton’s birth. Find more videos at http://WordOnFire.org.